BMW testing hydrogen-powered X5 on public roads – When it’s going on sale

After four years in development, BMW is finally launching a global pilot programme for its hydrogen-powered iX5.
This marks the first time anyone outside of the BMW engineers will experience the new-energy SUV, and it will provide invaluable knowledge to the manufacturer with which it can fine-tune the technologies.
“The test fleet is fewer than 100 vehicles; [and] they will hit the road chiefly in Europe, Japan, South Korea, China, the USA, and the Middle East,” BMW South Africa confirmed to TopAuto.
This means local media and consumers will unfortunately not be part of the testing procedures.
“We will not be offering our customers a production vehicle until the second half of the decade, at the earliest, depending on market requirements and overall conditions,” said the company.
By this point in time, the fuel-cell drivetrain is planned to be in its third generation and “will be able to offer a complete package that meets our customers’ high expectations.”
For BMW, hydrogen will play a key role in the transition to new-energy vehicles as “one technology on its own will not be enough to enable climate-neutral mobility worldwide,” said Oliver Zipse, chairman of the board of management.
Benefits of hydrogen
The main benefit of a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle (FCEV), when compared to a battery-electric vehicle (BEV), is rapid re-fueling akin to the traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) cars we have today.
Green hydrogen is stored in a pressurised tank similar to petrol or diesel and is fed into the FCEV through a pump, like the one you will find at your local filling station, allowing the vehicle to be refilled in just a few minutes.
Of course, FCEVs also contribute significantly to decarbonisation and will assist in bringing the BMW Group’s emissions-per-vehicle down by “at least” 40% by 2030, in relation to 2019 when the iX5 Hydrogen was unveiled.
iX5 Hydrogen specs
First revealed as a prototype at the 2019 IAA show, the iX5 Hydrogen has spent the better part of the last 48 months being developed.
Currently, the FCEV’s powertrain is capable of producing a maximum of 295kW – 125kW coming from the hydrogen system and 170kW from “lithium-ion technology” – allowing for a 0-100km/h time of under 6 seconds and a top speed of 180km/h.
However, hydrogen is not nearly as dense as fossil fuels and requires more advanced components to store the propellant, hence the extensive production process, and in the case of the iX5, these take the form of two 700-bar tanks made of carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP).
The two sizeable capsules are capable of carrying a combined 6kg of hydrogen in a gaseous state, providing up to 504km of range at a rate of 1.19kg/100km.
The SUV is built at the BMW Group Research and Innovation Centre in Munich, Germany, where 900 people are constantly at work in the body shop, assembly, model engineering, concept vehicle construction, and additive manufacturing.